***Processing of a pistol permit can take up to two weeks. Payment for a pistol permit must be in the form of check or money order made out to the Town of Barrington. Payment is made at the time you pick up the permit.

A: By state law (RSA 159:19), the only place you can’t have a gun is a courthouse or courtroom. By federal law, there are two places where you can’t carry.

Here are the two federal laws:

(1)Title 18, United States Code, Section 930 prohibits firearms (and also knives with blades longer than 2-1/2 inches) in federal “facilities,” meaning buildings. (Note that this includes post offices.)

(2)Title 18, United State Code, Section 922, paragraph (q) is the Gun Free School Zones Act. You can’t have a gun in, on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of the property line of, an elementary or secondary school, whether public or private. (Note that this doesn’t include colleges or universities.)

Q: What about private businesses/property?

A: On private property (including stores, theaters, restaurants, etc.), the property owner can set a “no guns” policy. In NH a “No Firearms” sign posted on private property does not carry the weight of law but they can ask you to leave if you’re carrying, and have you arrested for trespassing if you don’t leave. You will not have violated NH law related to carrying a firearm but you will be violating their company policy and NH trespassing statutes if you don’t leave when you are asked.

Q: Can I carry my firearm “openly” (unconcealed)?

A: The NH Attorney General’s Office has stated that open carry is regarded as a "Right", and though any citizen may call the police if they observe someone carrying a gun openly, that citizen's "annoyance and alarm" does not override the "Right" to carry openly. The police are obligated to investigate the citizen's complaint, but once it is determined that there is no substance to the complaint, the citizen openly carrying should be allowed to carry on with his/her business. Obviously in the post 9/11 age if people observe you openly carrying a firearm it may cause them to be concerned and to report you to the police. Once such a report has been made you can expect to be identified and questioned to determine if there is an actual threat.

Q: I’ve seen city and town parks and buildings with “no firearms” signs. What about them?

A: RSA 159:26, declares that only the state (not cities or towns) may regulate firearms, and that any city or town ordinances about guns are null and void, except for zoning and hunting.